9. Taylor McLaughlin digs deep for last-moment silver
After winning the USATF Junior Nationals title in Clovis, California, four weeks ago, Taylor McLaughlin complained of fatigue from a long collegiate season that saw him earn All-American honors in the 400m hurdles for Michigan. Since then, he advanced to the semifinals at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials and competed through all the rounds in Bydgoszcz, Poland.
But that fatigue gave way to adrenaline on Saturday night. McLaughlin calmly lined up next to Jamaica's Jaheel Hyde, the defending world junior champion, and followed him as best he could through 200 meters. As the athletes hit the homestretch, Hyde was clearly in the lead and McLaughlin looked like he was running out of steam as Kyron McMaster of the British Virgin Islands and Mikael de Jesús of Brazil surpassed him.
But with 60 meters remaining, McLaughlin found his fire and fought through the line to win silver in a new personal-best time of 49.45.
Hyde won gold in 49.03, while McMaster took bronze in 49.56--a new national junior record for the British Virgin Islands.
| POS | BIB | ATHLETE | COUNTRY | MARK | REACTION TIME | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 539 | Jaheel HYDE |  JAM | 49.03 | 0.144 | |
| 2 | 901 | Taylor MCLAUGHLIN |  USA | 49.45 | PB | 0.166 |
| 3 | 530 | Kyron MCMASTER |  IVB | 49.56 | NU20R | 0.175 |
| 4 | 186 | Mikael DE JESÚS |  BRA | 50.06 | 0.145 | |
| 5 | 568 | Tatsuhiro YAMAMOTO |  JPN | 50.99 | 0.134 | |
| 6 | 218 | Debin GONG |  CHN | 51.03 | 0.263 | |
| 7 | 567 | Yoshiro WATANABE | JPN | 51.09 | 0.157 | |
| 8 | 836 | Mohamed Fares JLASSI |  TUN | 52.14 | 0.145 |